Chapter 11

The fire crackled away in the hearth, filling the library with a warm glow. While it wasn't a ragining inferno it was still enough to keep the approaching twilight's chill at bay, though Kresta found that she still needed to wrap a shawl around herself to keep comfortably warm. Anna, on the other hand, was reclining like it was the height of summer. Sprawled across the lounge with her feet hanging off the edge, she looked to be perfectly at ease in her spring dress. Actually, she felt a tad bit jealous of the younger princess's apparent imperviousness to cold.

"And then I may have kicked his head off," Anna said, giggling to herself.

"Really? A walking, talking snowman?" That would have been a sight to see, she thought as she sank back in the armchair she was sitting in. Apparently Elsa's powers could do more than she'd originally been lead to believe.

"Oh yes. Olaf was based off a snowman that Elsa and I made when we were little. I think you would have liked him." She was still smiling but that gradually faded as she lay back to stare off into space. "I miss him."

Silence hung in the air between them, with Anna looking at nothing in particular while Kresta watched the flames snap along the logs that fed them until she heard the redhead say, "So."

Looking away from the fire, she saw that Anna was watching her. "So?" Kresta replied with a smile.

Returning the smile, she asked, "What'd you think of Aaron?"

While she was clearly expecting an immediate answer Kresta found that she didn't have one to give right away. What did she think of this Aaron? She hadn't been able to glean much from those amber eyes or that steadfast expression and, while most men could quite blunt with their words, he appeared to choose his quite carefully, always saying enough to answer her questions but never much more than that. As a result he was still very much an enigma to her which only served to make him more intriguing, even if his appearance was a bit of a letdown.

Shifting her eyes back to the shifting fire, she eventually spoke, though slowly. "He's… nice enough. A gentleman to be sure, if a little odd."

"Yeah, he can be an odd duck at times."

With a smirk she glanced at Anna. "You're one to talk."

Narrowing her eyes, she gave Kresta snippy look and asked, "What are you saying?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that you can be a bit quirky at times," she replied, but continued before Anna could reply and taker them off course. "You know, you never did tell me. How do you know Lord Aaron?"

The question seemed to catch Anna off guard as she lay back and stared up at the ceiling, apparently picking her words so as not to say too much. "Well, he is the Lord Protector of Arendelle so obviously we would have met that way," she said, her eyes tracing a support beam. "On top of that, though, he is my fiancé's best friend."

"And how did those two first meet?"

Once again she paused to choose her words and formulate her thoughts. "Out in the mountains that make up the interior of the kingdom. Apparently they just happened across one another and have remained close ever since."

Something seemed a little off about Anna's story and she was about to inquire further when a particular fact leapt out at her. "Wait. They met in the mountains? I thought Aaron was from here?" she asked.

Shaking her head, Anna looked back down at her. "Nope. In fact, a year ago he'd never even seen the city."

Now that was odd. Looking back at the fire, she gave a puzzled, "Huh."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just that he went from someone who'd never set foot in Arendelle to one of its most powerful men." Pausing, she glanced at Anna to gauge her reaction. "Must have friends in some pretty high places."

As she expected the redhead instantly looked away, clearly fumbling for words. "Yeah, well… you could say that."

Anna's elusiveness only served to feed her curiosity and she definitely intended to grill her more. However, before she could the door to the library swung open and thy all looked up to see a haggard looking Elsa walk into the room. Though she was clearly exhausted from a long day, she still held herself up in a regal stance as she crossed to the front of the lounge, pausing when she saw that Anna was occupying all of it. "Scooch," she said, taping on her sister's leg, who, despite grumbling disgruntedly at having to move, shifted her legs to clear a spot. Once she was out of the way Elsa sank onto the lounge with a loud huff, her eyes staring into the burning fire.

When no one spoke for a moment Kresta decided to pipe up, saying, "Looks like someone's had a long day."

"You have no idea," Elsa replied, giving her a weary look. "Having so many guests arrive all at once is exhausting, especially since half of them already have complaints in one form or another. Doesn't help that the other half thinks they can woe me in less than a day." She then turned to Anna and said, "Hey you. Shouldn't you be in bed already?"

"I haven't had a bedtime in over five years," she answered curtly, sticking her tongue out in the process.

Rolling her eyes, Elsa shook her head. "I know you haven't. What I meant was you're getting married tomorrow. Maybe you should get a good night's sleep."

"Like I can sleep on a night like tonight," Anna said, still giving her a suspicious look. "But I suppose I can try to catch a few winks while I'm here." With that she swung her feet around so that she was lying down again with her legs sitting on Elsa's lap.

Looking down at her legs, Elsa gave her an incredulous look. "Sorry, am I in your way?"

"No, you're fine." Smiling, she snuggled down against the lounge. "I'm comfy."

After letting out an exasperated sigh Elsa glanced over at Kresta, who was hiding a smirk behind her hand. "See what I have to deal with on a daily basis?" she asked, gesturing at her prone sister.

Fighting back a laugh, she still kept her hand over her grin as she replied, "It's a wonder that you're able to cope at all."

"I know, right? Fortunately I know how to deal with her." Reaching down, she took ahold of one of Anna's ankles before tickling the bottom of that foot, to which Anna gave a loud shriek and a startled jerk.

"Alright, alright! I'm moving!" Sitting back up with her feet on the floor, she gave Elsa a dirty look. "You could have just asked."

Now it was Elsa who was smiling as she smoothed out the front of her dress. "Would you have moved if I did?"

"… Well, no."

Laughing, Elsa slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze before looking back at Kresta. "What were you two talking about before I came in?" she asked, ignoring Anna's efforts to shake her arm off.

"Lord Aaron," Kresta replied, chuckling at the disgruntled look on Anna's face.

That was the last thing Elsa expected to hear as she gave a surprised blink. "Oh." Just as quickly as the startled look had come, though, her face quickly became neutral again and she gave Anna a measured look. "And what did you say?"

Anna had had a rebellious look on her face but that quickly melted under Elsa's gaze as she meekly replied, "Just how he and Kristoff met and how that brought Aaron to Arendelle."

"Ah, of course." She gave her a smile but her eyes remained hard when she looked back at Kresta. "That sounds about right."

Now something definitely seemed off about Elsa but she couldn't tell what, so she simply asked, "How do you know the young lord?"

"Me? He's on my council of course."

"And how did he come to be there?"

Rather than answering right away Elsa gave her a long, quiet look as though debating how to answer. Eventually she just said, "Perhaps you should ask Lord Aaron that question. He knows the story better than I do." Before she could protest that she already had and he'd simply neglected to answer, though, Elsa turned to Anna and continued talking. "As for you, young lady, you really should be getting some rest. Can't have you looking groggy on your big day."

Letting out a disgusted sigh, Anna climbed to her feet. "Fine. I'll go. But just know that I'm not going willingly." To Kresta she said, "Goodnight, Kresta. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, honey," she replied with a smile. It was probably a good idea for her to go to bed but that wasn't the only reason that she was happy to see her go. Now it would just be her and Elsa and she could get to the bottom of Aaron's tale.

However, that hope fizzled away almost instantly when Anna opened the door to leave only to find a startled Zach standing there, his hand raised to knock. "Oh, Anna. Good evening. I was just looking for my sister," he said before looking into the room. "Hi sis. And Elsa. What a pleasant surprise to see you here."

"Hi Zach," Anna replied, stepping past him. "I'd love to stick around and talk but Someone wants me to go to bed." She glanced at Elsa, who was wearing that innocent look of hers. "Not going to point any fingers or name any names."

"Uh… okay?" Clearly befuddled, Zach glanced between the two of them a few times before shrugging. "Alright. Shame you're not sticking around. I always enjoy talking to you."

"And I you." Nodding graciously, Anna turned and made her way down the hall, vanishing from sight.

Meanwhile, Zach stepped into the room and turned with a broad smile, clearly happy with what he'd found. Elsa, on the other hand, didn't look nearly so happy when he crossed the room to sit on the lounge beside her, giving a jerky nod when he asked if he could sit there. If anything she looked uncomfortable to have him around, which was odd when one considered how good she normally was at concealing her thoughts.

Not that Kresta blamed her. Every attempt Zach had made to flirt with her over the day had ended in either an awkward silence or abysmal failure. Elsa would still smile or laugh but that was clearly in an effort to be hospitable. Despite all that, though, he still seemed eager to continue in his vain campaign to claim her heart. And that was the last Kresta wanted to see right now.

Standing from her chair, she made a show of stretching. "Well, I think I'm going to go too. Take a short walk before bed."

"Really?" Elsa replied, giving her a pleading look. "Are you sure you don't want to stay a while longer?"

Behind her she saw Zach nod at the door, indicating that he wanted to be alone with the queen, which only caused her to smile when she looked back at the desperate Elsa. Nope. Sorry, but if you're not going to come clean with me about this whole Aaron thing then I'm going to leave you at the mercy of my brother's terrible courting. "No, I think I will go. I feel like getting some fresh air anyway."

"Maybe I should go with you." As she spoke Elsa made to rise to her feet, only to have Kresta place a hand on her shoulder and push her back down.

"Thanks but no thanks. I want some time to be alone with my thoughts. Besides, you've got my brother here to keep you company."

"Yeah," chimed Zach, delighted that things seemed to be going his way.

Elsa was still very reluctant to be alone with him but could see no way out and eventually conceded defeat. "Very well. You take your walk. We'll miss you."

Flashing them both a smile, she walked over to the door, pausing after opening it to look back at them. She had to repress a giggle at the sight of Elsa's miserable expression next to Zach's gleeful excitement. When he looked over at her, though, she gave him a small smile, which in turn became a scowl directed at her when he turned back. That only made her want to laugh harder as she succinctly said, "Have fun, you two," before stepping into the hall.

Despite her efforts she still let out a snicker when she heard Zach say, "Well, looks like it's just you and me," as she shut the door.

So sorry, Elsa, she thought as she walked down the hall, clutching her wrap even tighter to herself as she went. If anything, she might have even felt kind of bad leaving the queen stranded with her bumbling brother. Seemed kind of unfair, if anything. But then, maybe she'd be more inclined to talk in the future after being subjugated by him for an hour or so.